To Tip or Not to Tip?

Peter1
Host Advisory Board Alumni
SF, CA

To Tip or Not to Tip?

A recent article in the Washington Post posed the question: Should I leave a tip at my Airbnb?

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/airbnb-tip-cleaning-fee/

 

I do all the cleaning between stays myself and I charge a modest cleaning fee.  So, unlike hotel experiences, my guests never see any cleaning staff during their stay.  Hence, guests almost never leave any tips on their way out (I think there has only been one case in all the years I have been hosting), and I'm perfectly fine with that.

 

But, I've been a guest in places where the listing provides a cook who comes in every morning to make breakfast and a cleaning staff who makes the beds, tidies the rooms and even does some laundry (this was in Mexico).  The listing makes it quite clear that there is no extra charge for those services.  In that case, my friends and I left a generous tip on our last day even though we were sure the staff were at least decently paid even without tips from guests.

 

In the article, some expressed the view that if the Host charges a cleaning fee, guests should not feel obligated to tip, unlike hotels where typically there is no separate cleaning fee.  I'm not persuaded by that argument.  Hotels incorporate their cleaning expenses into the their nightly rate.  How that expense is expressed to the guest should not determine whether or not a tip is warranted.

 

Others express the view that if, as a guest, you are leaving the premises in a clean and tidy state, then there is less of an obligation to tip than if you left the place in a mess.  However, in my experience, guests almost never leave tips if there is a separate cleaning fee, whether or not they leave the place in a tidy or messy state.  In fact, I sometimes feel that charging a cleaning fee gives guests the moral permission to leave the place messy and not feel guilty: "I'm paying for them to clean up the place after me anyway, so why do their job for them?"  If that is true, perhaps I should experiment with eliminating the cleaning fee and leave a subtle comment in the Guest Book about how the cleaners would appreciate a tip.

 

What is your practice?  Do you employ cleaning staff?  If so, what is your expectation regarding tipping?  Do you encourage your guests to leave tips to the staff and how do you phrase that encouragement?  I'm also eager to hear from Hosts in non-Western cultures.  Please share with us your thoughts and practices.

3 Replies 3
Osama12
Level 2
Alexandria Governorate, Egypt

Hello @Peter1,

 

I have never asked my guests to leave tips for the following two reasons:

 

1- Tips are optional.

 

2- If I ask my guests for tips directly, it may make my guests feel shy.

 

On the other hand, after I had checked some experiences, I found some hosts ask guests for tips.


Have a nice day!
Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

@Peter1   I do not ask my guests to tip, and I would not expect my guests to leave a tip.  I charge a cleaning fee so that my guests can expect a pristine accommodation and that the hot tub has been serviced and is sanitary.  However, if my housekeeper or maintenance person has had to visit and take care of a guest who has messed up something or has some special need, then a tip left for them is appreciated but NOT required as I pay my staff well.

 

However, if I were to visit a vacation rental and had daily maid service, a cook, a driver or other concierge valet service, I would tip those persons.

Debra300
Top Contributor
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Peter1,

I don't ask guests to leave a tip, because I believe that a thoroughly clean rental space is a bare essential, but do request and state in my communications and house rules that they clean up after themselves during their stay and at checkout.  We recently reinstated a separate cleaning fee and security deposit for our long-term rental because we usually have to use a cleaner, and the money goes directly to her.  Our checkout message does state that the cleaning fee includes up to 7.5 hours of cleaning, and money will be deducted to pay the cleaner for any extra cleaning effort. 

Don't just believe what I say, check the Airbnb Help Center